The first 15 from a 45-member Bangladesh U19 squad of cricketers that underwent Covid-19 test were all found negative for the virus along with 12 support staff. The cricketers and the staff were tested on Sunday and the reports were revealed on Monday.
Bangladesh Cricket Board [BCB] game development manager MA Kayser confirmed the news to the media. Last week BCB announced a 45-member U19 squad for a residential training camp to be held at Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan [BKSP] in Savar.
“Alhamdulillah everyone in the first batch have tested negative. We will send them to BKSP now. Others will have to undergo the test as per schedule and will follow the same protocol,” said Kayser to the media on Monday.
The four-week long camp will be held from August 23 to September 18. All the cricketers and staff will be tested for Covid-19 before they are sent to BKSP for the camp.
The cricketers for this U19 camp are usually selected from BCB Development National Youth Cricket League that is played and divided in four different zones. This time however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the tournament could not finish and the selectors were not able to complete the job.
During the four-week long camp the 45 cricketers will play eight matches at BKSP and based on performance in these matches, around 25 to 30 cricketers will be selected for the next batch of Bangladesh U19.